Jack oe holder for boots and shoes



(NoModeL) z. FRENCH.

LASTING JACK OR HOLDER FOR BOOTS AND SHOPS. No. 274.091,

Patented Mar. 13,1883

.fkwsvezu; f Z q oh my 11?)??11670 N. PETERS. Pmwuumm m Wphinxiom n aUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ZAOHARY T. FRENCH, OF EosToN, MAss, AssIeNo TO THE GOODYEAR &

- MGKAY SEWING MACHINE COMPANY, or HARTFORD, ooNNEcTrou'r.

LASTlNG-J ACK OR HOLDER FOR BOOTS AND SHOES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 274,091, dated March13, 188.

Application filed January 2, 1883. (No model.) i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ZACHARY T. FRENCH, of Boston, county of Suffolk,Stateot' Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Lasting-Jacks orHolders for Boots and Shoes, of which thei'ollowing description, inconnection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, likeletters on the drawings representing likeparts.

The jack, the subject of my invention, is adapted to hold a lasted bootor shoe while the outer sole is being stitched in a sole-sewing machineto the welt or to an outwardlyturned upper; and my invention is animprovement on" United States Letters Patent No. 258,696, to whichreference may be had.

In the lasting-jack or shoe-holder represented in the patent referred tothe clamps which act against the upper are mounted upon a block pivotedupon a rigid lever extended loosely through an opening in the standard.containing the heel-pin, and the said lever is acted upon bya screw tocontrol the pressure of the clamps upon'the upper on the last. As theheel-pin-receiving hole in the last becomes worn, and the last-pinhas'play thereon, ithas been found that the standard and lever areforced backward toward the heelof the last as the screw is turned inagainst the lever to force the clamps upon the upper. This backwardmovement of the lever causes the clamps to draw upon and move the forepart of the upper backward, and also move back with it the last-block.In a holder of the kind referred to employed with short lasts the rigidlever extends back of the heel of the last,which is objectionable to theoperator when presenting the toe of the shoe to the sewing-machine, asit interferes with the ready turning of the shoe and holder. 7

In this my invention I have simplified and cheapened the construction ofthe jack or shoe- 1 holder, and reduced its weight, making it with ascrew, or equivalent, combined with a spring and one or more attachedclamps to engage and hold the upper on the last.

b, and at itsother end a screw, 1), to bear 6o against and move thespringpc, which carries the toe-clamp d, and the clamp e, whichengagesand holds the upper on the top of the foot of the last, oppositethe ball thereof. The

slotted plate engaged end of this spring nearest the heel-pin is slot- 65 ted, as at 3, to receive the adjustable holding device f, (shown as aheaded. bolt-,) the projection of which determines the distance of thesaid spring from the yoke-the nearer the head f to the yoke the stifferthe spring. The

slot 3 is long enough to permit the spring 0 to be adjusted or movedlongitudinally to adapt the clamps to lasts of dili'erent lengths and tooperate with lasts of different shapes.

The clamp-forcing device 7) (shown as a 7 screw) has at its end] a smallhead, b below which is an annular groove, If, to receive the edges ofthe slotted plate or holding device attached to the under side of thespring 0. The

end of the screw, or its head b rests against the under side of thespring a, and preferably between the two clamps, or so that the movementof the screw b toward the last causes both of the clamps to be forcedagainst the upper, the end of the spring nearest the heelpin thenresting against the head of the bolt or screwf. The clamps readilyadjust themselves to the shape of the last being used, and stretch andhold the upper firmly in place thereon. The screw 11, in engagement with0 the slotted plate h, enables the spring to be held in place withrelation to the yoke when the last is removed. If desired, the slottedplate might be omitted and the spring be provided with a holding devicemade as a bail, m, 5

or as a wire loop, as shown in dotted lines, to hold the spring to theyoke B when the last is removed. Longitudinal adjustment of the springon the yoke enables the jack to receive and operate correctly inconnection with lasts IOU of different lengths, and the yoke and springare made light to occupy the least possible space. The yoke, below thatpart of it constituting the heel'pin, or that part which directly entersthe last, is bent or curved, as shown in Fig. 1, to form a space, S, forthe reception of the top or ankle part of the boot or shoe on the last,the said curved part of the yoke also serving as a handle by which theoperator may manipulate the lasting-jack or shoe-holder.

In this my apparatus I have applied the power to move the clamps whichhold the upper where they act upon the upper, and by dispensing with arigid lever between the screw and last and applying the power directlyto a spring near the point where the clamp bears against the upper onthe last I forcing devices, combined with a spring, or clamp ecarried byit, substantially as described.

2. The spring and its two clamps, d a, combined with the yoke having theheel-pin and the forcing device, and means, substantially ing device forthat end of the spring nearest the heel-pin, to enable the jack to beadapted to lasts of difl'erent lengths, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name i to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses,

ZAGHARY T. FRENCH.

Witnesses:

G. W. GREGORY, BERNIGE J. Norms.-

